With the commencement of voting looming less than a month away, Donald Trump's fellow Republicans are once again uniting in his defense, responding to a recent Colorado Supreme Court decision that removed him from the state's presidential primary ballot on the grounds of the US Constitution's insurrection clause.
As the legal and criminal challenges against Trump have mounted, his GOP rivals, who previously reacted to his numerous indictments, are characterizing this landmark decision—marking the first time the 14th Amendment has been employed to disqualify a presidential candidate—as inappropriate, a mere "stunt," and an "attack on democracy."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claimed that the court's ruling was a scheme to ensure Trump's nomination, asserting that Democrats perceive him as the weakest Republican candidate. He decried the decision as unfair and an abuse of power during a speech in Urbandale, Iowa, on Wednesday.
The ruling underscored a consistent theme in the GOP primary: despite expectations that the legal challenges against Trump would harm his candidacy, they have instead galvanized Republican support for the former president. Primary voters, even those initially open to other candidates, have rallied behind Trump, framing him as a victim of politically motivated efforts by President Joe Biden and his administration.
Republican strategist Devin O’Malley noted that the apparent partisanship of the Colorado court, where all justices were appointed by Democratic governors, reinforces suspicions among Americans that institutions can be weaponized against them, serving as a proof point for Trump.
Even prominent Trump critic, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, criticized the ruling, stating that it's inappropriate to remove him from the ballot through the courts and emphasizing the need to defeat him at the ballot box for a more validated outcome.
Several Republicans, including former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, voiced concerns about judges determining ballot eligibility. Ramaswamy pledged to withdraw his name from the Colorado GOP primary if Trump is excluded, urging DeSantis, Christie, and Haley to do the same. However, the Colorado Republican Party indicated a contingency plan to convert the primary into a caucus if the decision stands.
The Colorado case is one of many lawsuits filed nationally to disqualify Trump from the ballot under Section 3, designed to prevent former Confederates from reentering government after the Civil War. Trump faces multiple criminal indictments, including allegations related to overturning the 2020 election results and the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Despite these legal challenges, a significant portion of Republicans remains skeptical of allegations against Trump, per an August AP-NORC poll.
The Colorado court's decision is anticipated to entrench Trump's support further, particularly among voters who perceive it as another attack on him. While some express disagreement with the decision, concerns about the impact of Trump's legal battles on his electability persist. The Biden administration declined to comment on the ruling, emphasizing it as a legal process.
